Miami Heat's team president Pat Riley's decision to ban LeBron James from eating chocolate chip cookies during flights may have played a part in his decision to leave the team, according to Dwyane Wade, a future Basketball Hall of Famer and one of James' closest teammates. He recalled an incident where James was visibly upset when he discovered his cookies were not allowed on the plane towards the end of his stint with the Heat from 2010-2014.

Riley had reportedly started to micromanage the team after they won back-to-back NBA championships and made four consecutive NBA Finals appearances. James would often bring his own food, prepared by his personal chef, onto flights, which frequently included cookies as a treat, Wade remembered.

This was a regular occurrence throughout his four years with the Heat, until Riley decided to prohibit certain items, including James' beloved cookies.

Speaking on Lou Williams's The Underground Lounge podcast, Wade stated: "One thing you don't do is **** with LeBron's cookies... No, no, no, this is serious. He loves chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate chip cookies and ice cream, he loves. LeBron walks on the plane with a bag of food. One bag is all cookies and the other bags are what his chef has prepared for him to eat."

Wade recalled an incident involving James during their time with the Miami Heat, which shed light on the team's dynamics. James and his teammates were playing cards when he asked for his cookies to be brought to him, but a staffer informed him that they were no longer allowed on the plane - a decision by Riley.

Reacting to the reveal, James simply nodded and wore a disappointed, stoic expression for the rest of the flight, abstaining from the card game. Wade critically recalled the events, saying: "It was too much micromanaging at that point. You're talking about a team who went to four Finals in a row, you don't need to micromanage us."

"And I felt that he went a little too far with his micromanaging at points like that. He's a grown man, you don't take the cookies away from us. You got the **** that gets you through. When I get on this plane, I want this because this is what gets me through. Because now I'm about to fly to this city, not get in until 3 a.m., the food on the plane I really don't want to eat, I can't eat when I get in, I got to get up in the morning and we have to do this again."

Wade's reflections bring into focus the strains within the squad that perhaps played a part in James' decision to leave the Heat for Cleveland Cavaliers, where he famously won an NBA championship, that offseason.